The BEST episodes of Tour of Duty season 1
Every episode of Tour of Duty season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Tour of Duty season 1!
As the first television drama series about the Vietnam War, Tour of Duty focuses on a single platoon of young U.S. soldiers through their one-year tour of combat duty in Vietnam during the late 1960's. While their own country is rocked by a massive anti-war movement, these young men find themselves thrown into combat in Southeast Asia, where they face enemy troops they can not see and sometimes can not kill. They also face their own fears, as they struggle in a hostile environment just to keep themselves and their fellow soldiers alive. Terence Knox, Kevin Conroy, Stephen Caffrey, Joshua Maurer, Steve Akahoshi, Tony Becker, Eric Bruskotter, Stan Foster, Ramon Franco and Miguel A. Nunez, Jr. star as the infantrymen who represent diverse racial, cultural and philosophical backgrounds but must ultimately depend on one another to get through the war alive.
#1 - The Short Timer
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/19/1988
Bravo company is on another S&D mission. A new man is on point, and he stops the patrol when he sees some blood, which he follows to a Vietnam booby trap. He's killed. Taylor takes over point, even though he is a short timer. Later, he manages to survive an encounter with an NVA machine gun nest after he destroys it. Taylor must address his mixed emotions about his near return to home. His fear and distaste for Vietnam is equaled only by the darkness of the life waiting for him at home. Taylor, after a "Dear John" phone call from home, signs up for another tour.
#2 - Gray-Brown Odyssey
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/25/1988
Goldman, Horn, Calhoun, and Pointer are returning to the base after spending two days int he rear. Their jeep hits a mine, wounding Calhoun and Pointer. Goldman is blinded when a fire extinguisher blows up in his face. A squad of VC arrive and open fire. Calhoun and Pointer are killed by the attack, Goldman is blinded. In the end Horn chases after the sole surviving VC only to find that she's a woman. He captures her and takes her back to the hut where's he's left the blinded Goldman. Horn then, after much argument, goes after help for Goldman. The woman manages to signal to other villagers for help and so Goldman, blinded, must rig his rifle to her head, marching her off into his "blind landscape" so that they can escape the VC that she has called on to help her. As they escape they run into a great deal of trouble, starving families, groups of VC and even a group of Americans who fire on them. In the end, by the time Horn finds them, the woman has died in Goldman's arms, leaving Myro
#3 - Notes from the Underground
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/1/1987
Taylor is captured and held in the secret underground tunnels of the North Vietnam Army. Anderson and Goldman, trying to earn the men's respect, go into the tunnel after the NVA. In the end Anderson and Goldman escape the tunnel after a cave-in, as does Taylor when his Doctor is unable to follow orders and shoot him.
#4 - Battling Baker Brothers
Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/10/1987
Baker insists his fellow squad members follow him to an incoming helicopter. The incoming VIP turns out to be Baker's twin brother, who brings along a skate board that the whole squad uses for fun. Carl Baker turns out to be nothing like his brother: he is hard-drinking, womanizing, party-goer. The two brothers end up in a fight, nearly destroying the base in the process. Carl celebrates their birthdays by bringing in a truck-load full of Vietnamese hookers. They all party down and, in the end, Baker ends up doubly-mad as his brother steals his girl. Carl leaves the next morning with neither brother on speaking terms and everyone in trouble. Carl's helicopter goes down and Baker goes in after him, managing to get caught by the same VC who have his brother. They are both tortured by the VC and Anderson and Goldman must go in to rescue the two.
#5 - War Lover
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/15/1987
Anderson, Goldman, Percell and Horn go on a special mission with combat veteran and "war lover" Earl Ray Michaels. Anderson's past experience with Michaels as well as Michaels' current, wild behavior lead to numerous conflicts. They complete their mission, but Michaels' two men are killed and he feels responsible.
#6 - Angel of Mercy
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/9/1988
In a small South Vietnamese hamlet, an NVA officer arrives to brief his men that they will soon begin infiltrating towns and villages through-out the country in preparation for the Tet Offensive. Meanwhile, Bravo is in the bush, while Baker is losing a battle with his dysentery. As he "answers the call of nature," he sights VC closing on the unit and then, pulling his pants up, gets a frog down them, and starts screaming. As the American's come running, a firefight starts, ending with the capture of an NVA Colonel Trang. Goldman catches a bullet in the helmet and in his jacket as they try to retreat. Though saved by his clothing, he still does need to go to the hospital along with Anderson, who is hit with shrapnel. While Goldman and Anderson recover, Trang dies under mysterious circumstances during interrogation.
#7 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/24/1987
Sgt. Anderson is sent to division HQ to report on a battle in which his Bravo Company suffered losses and to meet the platoon's new leader, Lt Goldman. He also uses the trip to recruit some new "Grunts" calling upon his own criteria to call the best from a group of green recruits. Goldman, just arrived from the States, immediately clashes with Anderson over military procedure.
#8 - Under Siege
Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/1988
The men of Bravo are certain that Westmoreland has not yet informed the enemy that they are losing, as Firebase Ladybrid continues to come under daily long-range artillery fire. Suddenly a helicopter approaches and lands despite the fact that the base is taking fire. It is the new company commander -- Captain Larry Heath -- a man who initially wins over the favor of his troops with gifts, but he proves to be a complete fanatic. Heath wants to attack despite the fact that it appears that the base is about to be attacked. Zeke and Goldman set them men to putting up a defense and get in trouble because of it. A large attack proves that Anderson was right when the firebase is over-run and Doc Matsuda, with only 15 days left of his tour of duty, is killed when he refuses to abandon his patient.
#9 - Dislocations
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1987
B Company is ordered to escort a group of villagers from their present village to a new location, which is to be an example of U.S. technology aiding the Vietnamese. Among the villagers is Lang, a beautiful woman to whom Goldman becomes very attached. They are attacked again on the trail and Goldman's life is saved and then spared by a VC who turns out to be Lang's husband.
#10 - USO Down
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/21/1988
A USO band comprised of three female dancers, a sax players, and a singer, completes their performance at an outlying base, and are rushed to a helicopter to be flown to their next destination. None of them get a chance to even change their costumes. The helicopter is shot down and the entire crew is killed. Meanwhile, Bravo company is out on a recon, and Taylor who is on point, thinks he must be going crazy when he sees the girl in hot pants and leather boots. Bravo company takes the girls with them but can't call in for help because the radio's batteries are dead.The USO people make the transition to "soldier" with various degrees of success.
#11 - Blood Brothers
Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/12/1988
Retired Major General Goldman arrives by helicopter at Firebase Ladybird on a fact finding mission for Washington brass. Seeing another helicopter landing, he goes to greet and question Anderson and his soldiers about the mission they have just returned from. They later learn that the general is Goldman's father but it is clear when they meet that the two don't have a good relationship. They were estranged when Myron's mother died five years before and haven't spoken since. The Major general finds that his son's leadership methods appall him. Ruiz befriends a new man who joins the team, mainly because he is also a hispanic. But the man manages to get himself killed due to his careless attitude. Dalby orders Goldman's men into an impossible attack which Myron refuses to go on. Zeke and Goldman realize that the new man was on dope and set out to cure the problem themselves.
#12 - Soldiers
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/18/1988
The squad is in heavy contact with a group of enemy soldiers, and after taking several casualties manage to be retrieved by two helicopters. Danny hears that his father is hospitalized after a near-fatal heart-attack and is given emergency medical leave. Danny finds that his father and mother have separated and his father has taken up with a younger woman who is loyal to him. Danny feels left out and alienated from a man who he already wasn't close to. While waiting for his father to get better, Danny meets Rudy Morales, a vet handicapped by wounds -- a bitter, broken man. Danny is seriously upset by this and further upset by an argument with his father. Meanwhile, Taylor and Ruiz decide that they need to be by Danny's side, so they talk Anderson into pulling some strings and getting their R&R in Bangkok changed to Honolulu. Once in Hawaii they are exposed to the "real" world of mini-skirts and negative attitudes about the war.
#13 - Nowhere to Run
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/17/1987
Two sappers make their way into Firebase Ladybird without being detected, but Percell sees the third one, killing him. The other two manage to set off their explosives before they can be stopped. The next morning, Capt. Wallace orders Anderson and Goldman to have their men police up the dead bodies.. Anderson complains his men are beat, but Wallace isn't concerned. Percell is upset both over a friend's dying and having received a Dear John letter. Goldman, meantime, runs into an old friend: Lt. Nikki Raines, and promises to meet her later. Goldman, Anderson and the squad go out to destroy a bridge, which they blow up. Percell, in the midst of chasing a running VC, accidentally kills an 8-year-old. Percell is devastated over the incident.
#14 - Pushin' Too Hard
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/14/1988
Anderson, Goldman, and Captain Wallace are checking out a new weapon that has been added to the platoon's arsenal: a flamethrower. Zeke and Goldman are unhappy that the next mission will also include a beautiful female reporter -- Vicky Adams. Zeke fights against the woman's urges to "get the good stuff" and his own men's attempts to impress her -- at the risk of their own lives. A prisoner is caught and tells the unit that they are surrounded by an NVA regiment. Wallace refuses to go back to safety, though, and a bad situation continues to get worse and worse.
#15 - The Good, the Bad and the Dead
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/1987
A drunken GI steals a chaplain's jeep and goes on a joy ride with a Vietnamese hooker. They nearly collide with a jeep-load of MPs who chase him down. His arrest is witnessed by Zeke, who recognizes him as Decker, his former drill sergeant and role model. Anderson rescues Decker from a certain court-martial (his second) and drafts him into the squad without checking with Goldman first. Decker is popular with the guys but he almost immediately starts to disobey orders. Decker mans a listening post with Horn to watch for enemy troops movements, but he gets drunk and falls asleep. As a result, Horn is nearly killed.
#16 - The Hill
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/1988
Goldman and Nikki have a great time on a brief R&R that they spend together on China Beach. Their reunion is marred by the fact that Nikki refuses to marry him, fearing he will be killed in combat. Goldman returns to Firebase Ladybird to find that his unit has been assigned to help take Hill 1000. They've taken it before and lost it before. And this battle promises to be the worst. Even after the bunker is finally taken, it is found empty. They go back down so that a plane can spray a defoliate. They must go back and take that hill yet again. Horn has, in the meantime, gotten in trouble with a young -- and new -- officer. Sitting at the bottom of the hill and awaiting the court-martial, he sees a wounded Taylor and he decides to go back with his buddies and fight. Horn is seriously wounded and sent home.
#17 - Sitting Ducks
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/29/1987
B Company is sent to relieve another group guarding a small village which is having an important new irrigation system installed. As they arrive, Goldman discovers that the commanding officer has just been killed out on patrol. After they take over, men get hit every time they patrol the surrounding jungle. It looks like someone from the village/fort is setting them up. Horn becomes fascinated with the local Buddhists and eventually discovers that it is the monks using the temple bell, who are tipping off the NVA.
#18 - Burn, Baby, Burn
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/1987
Racial tension leads to violence when a militant black soldier, Tucker, and a KKK member, Innis, both end up in B Company. Tucker's friend is killed when Innis fails to provide cover. Later, Innis murdered with Johnson's weapon. While Goldman and Anderson don(t believe Johnson is guilty, they must follow procedure and place him under arrest. Meanwhile, Tucker has riled up "his" men. Armed, they approach the Camp Prison where Johnson is being held and demand his release. The white soldiers also approach, carrying their weapons. Only Zeke's courage and authority prevents a shootout between the groups.
#19 - Brothers, Fathers and Sons
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/1987
Anderson, Baker and Johnson are shot down and must make their way back to base while being hunted by the Viet Cong, led by Trang, whose son was killed by the Americans. The trio come across a woman who dies giving birth. Anderson is adamant about leaving the baby behind, but the other two insist on taking it with them. However, it is Anderson who ends up taking care of the baby and forms the strongest bond with him, risking his life to save the baby. In the end, after many gunfights, Trang and Zeke are left to battle it out. Trang gets the upper hand down when Zeke tries to save the baby, but he is unable to kill a man who twice risked his life for this child.
#20 - Roadrunner
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/7/1988
One of a GI's big events is the arrival of his mail. When Zeke opens his mail to find that his ex-wife, it is to find that she is complaining that he is not writing letters home often enough to their 3-year-old daughter. Zeke already has enough responsibilities... this one isn't wanted. However he has little time to worry about it before he finds himself out on patrol. Goldman orders the squad forward when Anderson warns that they are walking into trouble, Anderson scouts out ahead and ends up in a near-lethal mortar barrage. Anderson is nearing his limit when he finds out that the squad's next destination is a valley where Zeke's last outfit was nearly wiped out. Anderson fights going tooth-and-nail and it is obvious to everyone that Zeke is falling apart. There is little time to help him, though, as the men have to consider their mission first. The squad ends up going after a downed flyer... and while Zeke continues to deteroriate.
#21 - Paradise Lost
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/26/1988
The men from Bravo company are patrolling in the jungle when they find a fresh trail, one that leads to a trap by a group of VC soldiers. The Americans are out-numbered and in a very bad position. Suddenly they are rescued by Montagnards. Anderson trusts them, and has the squad follow them back to their village where they meet the translator -- an ex-GI (Kithem). The American is obviously hostile to the presence of Goldman and the rest of the Americans. Against Kithem and Anderson's better judgement, Goldman follows orders to help fortify the native "compound" against the VC. Kithem warns that all the American attention will only bring down the ARVN and NVA forces. Which is exactly what happens.